Gaijin  
 
Part 11: Hunted! 

By Sean D'Anna
 
=====  
 
Usagi Tsukino was lying in the 
hospital, tubes protruding from her 
throat forced oxygen down her throat. 
The mechanical rise and fall of her 
chest sent chills down Ami Mizuno's 
spine as she watched her friend lie 
there helpless. 
 
"Damn him," she muttered as she 
watched Usagi. The girl's condition was 
growing better, but it had been three 
days now. Usagi hadn't woken up yet. 
 
Ami closed her eyes as she thought 
about that moment again. The boy was 
acting even weirder than before. He had 
actually tried to help Usagi after he 
slit her throat wide open. She couldn't 
figure it out. It was as if he was 
afraid of something, something more than 
the girl dying. She couldn't put her 
finger on it, but it sounded right. 
 
She turned when a hand fell on her 
shoulder gently. It was soft enough that 
she didn't jump. "How is she?" 
 
"She's getting better," said Ami as 
she turned her head to look at Mamoru. 
The boy's face was etched with worry as 
he frowned down at he girl for a long 
moment. "The doctor thinks she'll pull 
through." 
 
"Thanks to you," said Mamoru. 
 
"I'm not the only one who tried to 
save her," muttered Ami under her 
breath. 
 
"I'm sure the others did everything 
they could to help," said the boy gently 
as he smiled at her weakly. 
 
Ami said nothing, but frowned a 
little at the thought. "Who is he? What 
does he want? Why did he do that? Why 
did he try so hard to...." She clenched 
her jaw in frustration. "It doesn't make 
any sense!" 
 
"Pardon?" asked Mamoru in confusion 
as he looked away from Usagi. 
 
"It's nothing," muttered Ami. "He's 
too dangerous. I hate to say it, but 
killing him is our only choice." The 
thought wasn't very comforting. 
 
++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
"Any luck?" said Makoto as she 
watched Rei concentrate in front of the 
fire. She was sitting in the middle of 
the shrine with sweat on her brow. 
 
Rei growled angrily. "Nothing. All I 
can get are confusing images of a man in 
black, and a sword. It's not telling me 
where this boy is." 
 
"Do you think...maybe that man is 
him?" asked Makoto as she scowled at the 
girl. 
 
"He won't live to be that old," said 
Rei coolly. "Besides, this man, he 
feels...like a friend...or maybe a 
lov..." Rei cut herself off and shook 
her head. "I think that perhaps this 
boy's destiny lies with him. He may be 
the one who defeats him in the end." 
 
"I want him," said Makoto firmly. 
 
"I just want him gone. I don't care 
who does it," replied Rei coldly. 
 
"What about this guy? Future 
boyfriend?" asked Makoto as she smirked 
at the girl. 
 
"It could be," nodded Rei. "He could 
be the one any one of us..." She snorted 
at this and glared at Makoto. "It 
doesn't matter." Her mind was suddenly 
filled with another vision. This time 
the figure was intimidating and strong. 
He had a cold scowl on his face and eyes 
that burned with the flames of hell 
itself. "He's dangerous as well. I'm 
getting conflicting images of him. He 
could be a friend, or an enemy." 
 
"Or a lover?" said Makoto as she 
smirked at the girl. 
 
"It is a possibility. As I said, it 
could just as easily be you." Rei gazed 
at her coolly and Makoto blushed. "In 
any case, that isn't what we should be 
discussing." 
 
Makoto nodded. "What now?" 
 
"I'm not sure, this image is very 
powerful, and blocks my mind whenever I 
try to find him. It looks like we'll 
have to find him another way." 
 
Makoto nodded and stood up. "We 
should start looking then." 
 
Rei frowned as the memory of the boy 
falling off the edge of the roof came 
into her mind. Her blast hitting along 
with the stars from the ninja girl. She 
hadn't seen how he'd made it onto that 
bus in the end, but it seemed absolutely 
impossible. He was dangerous, and very 
skilled. She knew that speaking about 
killing him, and doing it were two 
entirely different things. 
 
"Damn him." 
 
++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
"What's wrong with him?" asked Gia 
as she looked at Mei Lin and frowned. 
The pair was in the doctor's apartment, 
sitting across from each other with 
frowns on their faces. 
 
The girl shook her head and sighed. 
"I'm not sure, he's been sitting there 
for two days now. He hasn't moved." 
 
"I can't talk to him, he just grunts 
and looks away. Spike can't even get 
through to him; they always got along 
well. I'm worried." 
 
"He doesn't seem all that depressed. 
I've asked him about it, and he says 
'I've got thinking to do.'" Mei Lin 
frowned and shook her head. 
 
"This is annoying, but what can we 
do?" grumbled Gia as she sighed. 
 
"He's been eating all right, he 
seems healthy. He's just been brooding 
for a couple of days. It looks like he's 
genuinely thinking about something to 
me," replied Mei Lin. 
 
"Well, I hope it doesn't last too 
much longer." Gia frowned again. She 
hadn't even been able to force him to do 
anything. He just sat there, ignoring 
her threats with a strangely 
contemplative looking frown on his face. 
In the end, she had given up and left 
him alone. 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Carrot was sitting in the corner of 
his room. He was looking at the wall 
opposite him with a thoughtful frown on 
his face. "What the hell am I going to 
do?" It was a whisper almost when he 
spoke. 
 
Clenching his eyes shut, the image 
of Usagi's face as she hit the ground 
filled his mind. "She's out of it. This 
is the worst possible time for this? 
What the hell am I gonna do now? Those 
damn girls...they don't stand a chance 
without her!" He clenched his fist and 
growled in anger. "Beryl." He was no 
fool; he knew what his chances were of 
taking her on. He also knew that there 
was no ignoring the problem without 
Sailor Moon around to beat her. Sooner 
or later, he would have to face it 
regardless. 
 
He frowned again, and looked at the 
slip of paper in his hand. It was an 
address, a room number to hospital where 
Usagi was being kept. He'd made a few 
calls when no one was around, asking all 
the area hospitals about her, claiming 
to be her little brother. It had worked 
rather well, and within a half an hour 
he had the address, room number, and a 
list of people who had been to see her 
within the last few days. 
 
His smirk turned somewhat cold. 
Beryl was going to win; there was little 
doubt of that now. "I've got you, you 
little meatball head. You're at my 
mercy, as are your friends." His smile 
widened again. He knew from experience 
that sneaking into a place like that 
would be child's play for him. "One 
quick strike, and I would be Beryl's 
most trusted minion. Heh. Those tactical 
morons Zocite and Kunzite...I'd be the 
best, and probably the most powerful of 
them within a week. It would be...so 
easy." 
 
Usagi's pleading eyes flashed in his 
mind again, asking him why. Images of 
the Youma that had attempted to 
assassinate him surfaced as well. Mei 
Lin and her weak powers was the next 
memory. Rather than pull at his 
conscience these images strengthened his 
resolve. "Heh. It would be so easy. I'd 
have something even those crazy ninja 
would be helpless against. I'd wipe them 
all out." His evil looking grin widened 
as he clenched his fist in front of his 
face. 
 
"I've thought about this enough. 
It's time to go," he said as he stood up 
and started towards the door. 
 
"Carrot?" asked Mei Lin as she 
stumbled back in the hallway. She was 
surprised to see him up and about. 
 
"You want to fight evil do you?" he 
snorted in disgust. 
 
"I...um..." she blinked at him and 
stepped back in confusion. 
 
"I'll see you later, I've got 
something to do. I'll be gone a while, 
so don't wait for me." He started 
walking and left her standing in the 
hallway dumbly. 
 
"Wait! I..." 
 
"You'll see me again in a short 
time," he replied as he walked out the 
door of the building and into the 
street. 
 
++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
"Can I help you?" asked the small 
man who looked at Carrot nervously. He 
was standing behind a counter that was 
protected by a wire mesh. It had a small 
opening for passing goods and money 
through. 
 
"I need something from you," said 
Carrot calmly as he leaned against the 
grimy counter. The room was tiny, and 
had a small rusted out staircase that 
went up to a second level with boxes and 
boxes of various items. 
 
The tiny man frowned at him and 
snorted indignantly. "You're not 
authorized to buy from me. I'm afraid I 
need something from your boss telling me 
why you need..." 
 
"Shut up. This is an easy order for 
ya," said Carrot as he chucked a large 
wad of bills on the counter. 
 
The man looked at the cash. "I guess 
I got a small 9mm I can let you use..." 
he muttered greedily. 
 
"I want something else from you. 
I've got no real use for a weapon like 
that," said Carrot after a moment of 
thought. He considered it briefly, but 
decided the risk was just a little too 
much for his liking. 
 
This caught the tiny man's interest. 
"What do you need?" 
 
"It's not really illegal, but asking 
for it elsewhere is bound to get 
questions asked," replied the boy with a 
small shrug. 
 
++++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
An hour later, Carrot sat in a small 
empty shed on a rooftop somewhere. The 
sky was cloudy outside, and there was 
little doubt a storm was coming. He 
smirked as he worked on the black cloth 
in his lap and sewed. He wasn't sure 
where he'd gotten the idea from, but it 
would definitely be a little fun to play 
with. He eyed the sky outside as he 
worked and chuckled. "I wonder how long 
it will take to find them?" 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Several hours later... 
 
Mei Lin frowned, he wasn't home yet. 
His words were confusing when he'd left. 
She wondered if he was planning on 
coming back at all. Still, she didn't 
think he'd leave her all alone here. It 
sounded like he was coming back to her. 
He could be so irritating at times. He 
seemed to take a special joy out of 
giving confusing answers. 
 
"Maybe she's right. Maybe he is a 
jerk?" muttered Mei Lin as she looked 
over to the wall that separated Gia's 
home from theirs. "I wish he would take 
advantage of me though. I'm getting 
tired of waiting for it." She shook her 
head. Maybe she was playing too 
innocent? If she acted a little more 
forward, he might catch on? It was 
something to think about later, as it 
was; she was going to have a pretty 
boring night. 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Sailor Mars glared at the thing in 
front of her with a rage in her eyes. 
"Mars Fire Soul!" she screamed as she 
blasted it with her flame attack. 
 
The thing jumped nimbly aside. It 
looked like a giant monkey, wit purple 
hair and a circlet on its forehead. In 
it's hand was a staff and it wore a 
loincloth to hid its crotch from view. 
 
Jupiter was feeling rather sick at 
the sight of it. The loincloth was doing 
a rather poor job of it, and every time 
the thing jumped, they got a rather 
unobstructed view. "Damn! This thing is 
fast!" she said painfully as she 
clutched at her side. 
 
Venus and Mercury were hanging back, 
taking pot shots at the creature 
whenever possible. It was outmaneuvering 
them quite easily though. It cackled at 
them and spoke. 
 
"Foolish humans! I'll destroy you 
all! You'll give your power to the 
omnipotent! Soon, we will rule..." 
 
"Ya know, you guys should really get 
some new dialogue," replied a voice in 
English. 
 
Everyone in the room turned to face 
the voice, only to see nothing. 
 
"Hearing that crap gets old after a 
while," continued the strange voice from 
the shadows. 
 
"Show yourself!" cried Venus in 
Japanese. 
 
"Who's there?" asked Ami in her 
native tongue as well. 
 
"Heh." A dark figure waved at them 
from above. He was hanging upside down 
just over the girl's heads with his legs 
tucked up to his chest. He was dangling 
from a thin line that ran to the 
ceiling. "Sorry. I don't speak Japanese 
very well." He responded in English 
calmly. 
 
"What the?" snarled the Monkey thing 
in Japanese. "What is this thing?" 
 
"Who are you to talk?" snorted the 
shadowy figure as he dropped from his 
line onto the ground. 
 
Minako was the first to react. It 
was typical of course, her eyes went 
wide, and she got an odd looking grin on 
her face. "Wow! What a babe!" she 
muttered in English. 
 
The man who had jumped into the room 
was dressed in a tight fitting black 
bodysuit. His face was covered in a full 
mask, with two large plastic eyes with a 
mirrored surface. On his chest was a 
strange symbol that went all the way 
around to his back in the same manner. 
It was a giant white spider that took up 
more than half of the space on his torso 
up. 
 
He pointed at the monkey thing with 
a smile that everyone could see through 
the mask. "Just your friendly 
neighborhood Spiderman." 
 
"Spiderman?" muttered Makoto in 
confusion. "That's kinda gross. What 
kind of superhero names himself..." 
 
"Die!" snarled the monkey as it 
jumped into action again. It charged 
forward, towards the newcomer first. 
 
Spiderman jumped straight up and 
over the thing, shooting a line of some 
kind out of his wrist and swung across 
the ceiling. He flipped through the air 
and landed on a stack of boxes in a 
crouching position. "Too slow!" 
 
"Oh," said Makoto dumbly. 
 
The girls weren't quite sure what to 
do, the figure bounced around the room 
skillfully, avoiding the monkey easily 
as he dodged and swung through it's 
defenses and proceeded to beat the 
living hell out of it with only minimal 
effort. 
 
The monkey screeched as the thing 
swung unto his face feet first. 
Spiderman performed a back flip and 
landed in a crouching position in front 
of it, waiting for the next move. 
 
The youma staggered back clutching 
its face in agony as it righted itself 
again and stared at the puny thing in 
front of it in a mad rage. "I'll swallow 
your soul!" 
 
Spiderman tensed his body and 
readied himself. "Come get some." 
 
The beastly Youma roared and rushed 
forward, the smaller human jumped 
straight up and over the thing kicking 
his feet into its back and sending it 
sprawling across the ground. "Don't just 
stand there! Kill it!" he cried to the 
girls who were merely standing around 
the scene dumbly. 
 
Rei reacted first. "Mars Fire Soul!" 
her attack slammed into the hairy 
monster, burning it to a crisp within a 
few seconds. 
 
With the danger finally subdued, the 
four girls turned to face the newcomer. 
 
"Who are you?" asked Minako in 
English. 
 
The man seemed tense, he backed away 
from them as if he didn't want them too 
close and seemed somewhat distrusting of 
them. "I told you, I'm just your 
Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman." He 
jumped up onto the top of some boxes and 
seemed to fade into the shadows. "I'll 
be seeing you kids around. Later." 
 
"Wait!" cried Makoto as she rushed 
up to the pile of boxes. "Damn." 
 
"We didn't even get his number!" 
cried Minako. 
 
"He looked...just like my old 
sempai!" muttered Makoto with a sort of 
haunted look about her. 
 
"He was wearing a mask!" snapped 
Rei. "I don't trust him." She glared up 
at the roof and scowled. 
 
"What do you mean? He was a total 
babe!" cried Minako. 
 
Ami was blushing; the costume the 
boy was wearing didn't leave much to the 
imagination. Fortunately, he appeared to 
be wearing a cup. There was something 
off about his chest as well. It took her 
a moment of thought to realize he was 
wearing some sort of body armor over his 
chest and back. She had to admit that he 
had a rather tight rear as well. Rei 
seemed to be staring at her and she 
blushed a bit more. "Sorry." 
 
"Calling us kids. He didn't sound 
much older than we do." 
 
"Well, I think he can understand us, 
but he says he doesn't speak Japanese 
very well," said Makoto 
 
"Right," agreed Venus casually as 
she watched the area where he had 
vanished. "He seems friendly enough. 
Although why he'd pick something as 
creepy as 'Spiderman' is beyond me." 
 
"He appears to base his fighting 
style off of spiders. Maybe some kind of 
ninja?" replied Ami as she looked 
thoughtful for a moment. "His clothes 
had some sort of padding in the chest as 
well." 
 
"You mean, that body was fake?" said 
Makoto in disgust. 
 
Ami shook her head. "I doubt it. 
It's more likely it was some sort of 
armor. He was too strong and fast for 
those muscles to be fake." 
 
Rei nodded her agreement on that 
statement. "She's right. He's dangerous, 
we shouldn't trust him." 
 
"That's what you said about Mamoru 
too," snorted Minako. "Maybe he's 
destined to be one of our boyfriends?" 
 
Rei gasped and looked up at the 
ceiling for a moment. "It can't be..." 
 
"What is it?" asked Ami suddenly. 
 
"It's nothing. I can't be sure just 
yet," she responded calmly. "Even if 
it's true, we're not sure if he's an 
enemy or not! I don't even know if he's 
the man I've been seeing in that 
vision," she thought to herself in 
frustration. 
 
"In any case, we won't find that boy 
tonight. It will just have to wait. It's 
getting late anyway," said Ami. 
 
The others agreed, if somewhat 
reluctantly. The group dispersed and 
left the empty warehouse behind. 
 
In the shadows above them, Spiderman 
smirked to himself as he pulled off his 
mask. A long scar ran down his face and 
his eye was closed shut on the right 
side. His messy brown hair now stuck up 
in every direction after removing the 
mask. 
 
Carrot smiled as he leaned against 
the boxes and thought about what he was 
doing. 
 
"This is stupid. The disguise works, 
and I can fake a limited knowledge of 
Japanese to keep them off my tail for a 
while at least." He hated playing super 
hero, but Usagi's problem gave him no 
choice, he'd have to pick up some of her 
slack until she returned. Then he could 
go back to normal again. He'd had a bit 
of trouble getting his hands on the body 
armor, even after bribing the idiot at 
the yakuza's weapons storage. 
 
He also had to be careful about 
using his powers for now. The Senshi 
wouldn't take long to figure out who he 
was if he started lobbing iron poles 
around, and if they saw him throwing 
lines around as Carrot, they'd probably 
put two and two together as well. 
 
The disguise might be good for 
fooling Kei and her friends once or 
twice as well, but beyond that he was 
doubtful. Add that to the fact that he 
now had a secret identity to keep up at 
home as well, and that just made things 
even more complicated. 
 
Add to that the fact that he'd just 
pretty much picked his side against the 
Youma and Metallia, making him an even 
bigger target than when he was still 
neutral. His life was going to hell in a 
hand basket, and this time he was diving 
into the mess headfirst. "It's all my 
damn fault anyway." He growled angrily 
and hung his head in defeat. Being 
Spiderman wasn't so bad, his powers 
seemed to be similar anyway, so he just 
figured 'why the hell not?' 
 
He melted back into the shadows and 
put on his mask again It was time to go 
home anyway. 
 
+++++++++++++++++ 
 
Usagi Tsukino opened her eyes, 
everything was a blur. Images faded in 
and out of her sight and a blurry figure 
could be seen looming over her. "Where?" 
she tried to say out loud, but no sound 
came. 
 
"Usagi? How are you feeling?" said a 
sweet and familiar voice. 
 
"Ami?" she mouthed. 
 
"That's right, don't try to 
talk...you're fine now." 
 
The blonde girl nodded and said 
nothing; she relaxed her neck and 
allowed her head to fall into the 
pillow. It was soft and it relieved some 
of the pressure on her throat. The pain 
there subsided somewhat and she flinched 
slightly. 
 
"You must feel terrible," muttered 
Ami. "You've been here for a week now. 
You started waking up yesterday, but you 
probably don't remember. You were never 
up for very long." 
 
Usagi nodded slowly. The room she 
was in was large and spacious; she was 
alone and had a window that looked out 
over the city. 
 
"The scar on your neck won't ever go 
away, not without surgery," said Ami as 
she noticed the girl reach up to her 
throat idly. She seemed sad for some 
reason. 
 
Usagi nodded again, she felt 
incredibly weak. She noticed the IV in 
her arm and frowned slightly. It looked 
rather unpleasant despite being hidden 
by the bandages. 
 
"You can't have any solid foods for 
a while Usagi. I'm sorry to say it, I 
know how much you like eating." 
 
This statement irked the girl 
slightly and she scowled at her friend 
for a moment. 
 
"The good news is that in a week or 
so, you'll be able to have all the ice 
cream you want. So it's not so bad." 
 
Usagi's face lit up at this 
announcement. She smiled warmly in 
anticipation. 
 
Ami looked nervous, as if she was 
skating around something. "I shouldn't 
tell you...I...Oh Usagi!" The girl burst 
into tears and gave her friend a gentle 
hug. 
 
Usagi hugged back, not able to do 
any more than that. Words just wouldn't 
come to her, and her throat was so sore. 
 
"Usagi, I'm so sorry!" said Ami as 
she pulled back. "I should go. I'll send 
in your family. They're waiting on you, 
and it would be selfish of me to take up 
all your time." 
 
The girl cocked her head and watched 
her friend leave in confusion. She 
wasn't quite sure what to say or do. 
"I..." she mouthed the word again, her 
throat too raw to do anything more. 
 
Ami paused in the doorway. She 
tensed up and turned to look at her 
friend again. "Please stop that. I know 
you don't know yet, but don't try to 
talk." 
 
Usagi blinked and looked at her for 
a moment. 
 
"Usagi, your vocal chords were cut 
in half. You'll never talk again," said 
the girl quietly as she left the room. 
 
The blonde sat in bed working her 
mouth open and closed. She simply stared 
forward, not sure what to think about 
that. Fear was the first reaction that 
seemed to hit her, then uncertainty. 
 
Her family walked into the room; 
they were all quiet and smiled at her 
warmly. Her little brother looked 
nervous, and her father had a scowl on 
his face. Before anyone could speak. 
Mrs. Tsukino burst forward and started 
to sob loudly. She grabbed her daughter 
and tried to squeeze the life out of her 
as best she could. "WAAAAAHHHHHHH! 
Usagi!!! My baby girl!" 
 
Usagi tried to tell her mother that 
she was fine, and not to worry, and to 
please let her go because she couldn't 
breathe. However, nothing escaped her 
lips besides soundless air. She furrowed 
her brow as she struggled to breathe. 
This could get annoying. 
 
"Wow. This room is much nicer than 
the one from before," commented her 
little brother. Her father was trying 
his best to pry Usagi's mother off their 
daughter so she could breathe again. 
 
Finally, the woman let go. "Usagi. 
How did you do this? I knew you'd been 
hanging around a new group of friends 
lately, but... we can't accept something 
like this!" 
 
Usagi blinked in confusion. She 
looked at her mother dumbly for a long 
moment. 
 
"The specialists! The room! We can't 
afford all of this! You must tell us who 
is paying for all of this! We have to 
ask them to stop! It's not right, I 
appreciate it, and you're not in danger 
anymore. They've already done enough!" 
Her mother grasped the girl by her 
shoulders and smiled at her. 
 
"Honey, she doesn't know what you're 
talking about. She's been sleeping..." 
said her father as he pulled her gently 
aside. 
 
"One of my friends is paying for all 
of this?" thought Usagi in shock. She 
had tears in her eyes as she looked up 
at her mother. She had such wonderful 
friends! She could never repay them for 
this! There was just no way! 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Carrot smirked as he flipped the 
cellular phone in his hand closed. "That 
didn't take too long. It's good that 
she's awake now." The doctor had called 
him with an update, and he'd thanked the 
man politely before hanging up. They'd 
never suspect his hand in this, and he 
didn't really care if they did or not. 
All he wanted was a quick recovery, so 
he could stop playing hero faster. 
Naturally, he'd paid for the best 
doctors he could find. It didn't take as 
much money as he'd thought it would. 
 
The sooner Usagi Tsukino was on her 
feet, the sooner his life could get back 
to normal. 
 
Carrot sighed and hung his head. 
"Somehow, I seriously doubt that will 
happen, a guy can hope can't he though?" 
He looked up at the sky and shook his 
head. "Man, this really sucks!" 
 
He jumped off the edge of the roof, 
sending a line of wire out onto another 
building. The line went taught as he 
swung across the skyline of Tokyo with 
an odd looking smirk hidden beneath his 
mask. The wind blew against his body, 
giving him a slight chill through the 
thick fabric that made up his costume. 
His body armor lessened the sensation 
somewhat though, he was quite 
comfortable despite the chill in the air 
that night. It was an oddly free feeling 
to move the way he was. He pulled back 
the line and sent out another, 
performing an acrobatic flip in mid air 
as he did so. 
 
+++++++++++++++++ 
 
Kei frowned as she looked on from 
the street, her eyes locked on the 
mysterious figure that sailed overhead. 
"What the hell is that?" she muttered 
under her breath as she watched it flip 
through the air for a moment before it 
vanished. She stepped out of the shadows 
she had been hiding in and tried to 
catch another glimpse of it. 
 
"Something disturbs you?" asked a 
silky tone from her side. 
 
Kei turned her head towards the 
shadows and then looked up at the moon 
again. "I saw something...strange." She 
thought about it for a moment and turned 
it over in her mind a few times. "Seems 
our friend has a new wardrobe. He just 
passed over us." The technique was 
unmistakable, it had to be him. 
 
"Interesting," commented the tall 
thin ninja that walked out to her side. 
"I'm halfway tempted to go after him." 
He smirked behind his mask. He was 
dressed in a traditional looking ninja 
uniform, loose fitting black clothes, a 
cowl and facemask. 
 
"If I had recognized the technique 
he was using sooner, I'd have gone 
myself. We'll never catch him now 
though, he was moving too fast." Kei 
growled at her lapse for a moment, but 
quickly pushed it aside. 
 
"I'll pass the information along, 
why don't you go see if you can catch 
him?" said the tall ninja in amusement 
as he turned and melted back into the 
shadows. 
 
"Right," grumbled Kei irritably as 
she jogged off into the streets. 
 
+++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Carrot smirked to himself as he 
watched the scene unfold below him. He 
had circled back and landed on the 
rooftop above the pair the instant his 
new sense started to react. It was 
definitely a useful skill. He peered 
over the edge and watched as the taller 
of the pair seemed to slither through 
the shadows in the opposite direction. 
 
"Those two could be trouble. I 
didn't figure this would work to fool 
them." He sighed and shook his head as 
he removed his mask for a moment and 
wiped his forehead with his arm. "Still, 
at least it'll get those crazy senshi 
off my ass for a while." 
 
"Well, hello there," said a familiar 
voice from behind him. 
 
Carrot whirled around with anger 
clear on his face. Kunzite was standing 
directly behind him, with a rather 
superior looking smile of his own. 
"You!" 
 
"Yes, me," replied the man calmly as 
he strolled across the rooftop towards 
the boy fearlessly. 
 
Carrot stepped towards the edge, his 
body tensing slightly as he prepared to 
run. 
 
"Have you considered my offer?" 
asked Kunzite as his smile widened a 
little. 
 
The boy snorted and gripped the mask 
in his hand a little tighter. "I might 
have, if I hadn't figured out you and 
your friends have been trying to kill me 
all along." 
 
"My, aren't you the smart one?" said 
Kunzite lazily as his smile fell a 
little. 
 
"Mind explaining that?" said Carrot 
as he seemed to calm a little. The man 
wasn't moving towards him anymore. 
 
"It's not personal, and I can 
promise you that if you join us, it will 
stop," said Kunzite with a sudden 
seriousness in his tone. 
 
Carrot smirked. "You're afraid of 
something." 
 
"Pardon?" said the man with a 
disgusted sounding snort. 
 
"I'm not sure what it is, but 
there's something that's got you 
worried. I'll bet that's why you've been 
trying to get me on your side. 
Something's going on here, and I don't 
like being in the dark." 
 
"You're more foolish than I'd 
thought," snorted Kunzite as he narrowed 
his eyes at the boy. 
 
"Maybe I am," replied Carrot as he 
stepped onto the edge of the roof. "I'm 
not interested in your deal. When you 
lose this stupid war, I'm not going to 
end up dying with you." 
 
"Lose? My dear boy, we are winning," 
replied Kunzite coldly. 
 
"You haven't gotten rid of one of 
those Senshi, and two of your pals have 
died. Looks bad from my point of view." 
The boy jumped off the roof and swung 
through the air away from the scene as 
Kunzite merely growled and watched him 
for a moment. 
 
"So, you have chosen your path? So 
be it boy," he said angrily as he turned 
and vanished in a flash of dark power. 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Carrot puffed as he glanced around 
nervously as he landed on the roof of a 
two-story building. He whirled around in 
every direction, searching for pursuit 
of some kind. No one had followed him 
and he cursed under his breath. Running 
away really sucked, not as much as 
fighting and getting all beat up, but it 
still made him feel like a complete 
loser. 
 
He sighed and started to relax, when 
a scream broke the silence. The boy 
blinked and looked around the area where 
he was standing. The roof was empty, he 
was alone, but the scream sounded 
awfully close. 
 
He peered over the edge of the roof 
and almost groaned in frustration. 
Naturally, there was a hold up going on 
below him. He settled down with his 
elbows resting on the edge of the roof 
and watched. 
 
A boy in a leather jacket was 
holding a knife up to an older man and 
woman. He relieved them of their 
valuables and the woman screamed. She 
received a slap for the noise and the 
old man tensed. He held back though and 
the punks taunted him. 
 
Carrot sighed and rolled his eyes at 
the scene fate was throwing at him. 
 
The punk snorted and turned away, 
running into an alley with his loot. 
Carrot watched him run, and the old man 
helped the woman up to her feet. They 
were probably married or something. He 
didn't particularly care. 
 
The robbery was over and Carrot 
smirked to himself. He turned to look up 
at the sky and raised his fist at it, 
shaking it angrily. "Ha! I didn't do 
nothin! How do ya like them apples ya 
jerk!?" He was quite proud of himself. 
 
A soft crying floated up to him from 
below and he jerked rigid. "Oh man. I 
should probably go now...before..." 
 
"That was my mother's necklace! Oh! 
Mother, please forgive your foolish 
daughter for this!" cried the old woman 
as she simply fell to her knees and 
cried in the middle of the street. 
 
"Now darling, I'm sorry, but there 
really isn't anything we can do. I just 
hope I can manage to pawn enough to make 
the rent this month! That was the last 
of our money!" said the older man, in a 
rather pathetic attempt to console her. 
 
Carrot looked up at the sky and 
growled. "You realize that I hate you." 
 
+++++++++++++++++ 
 
He was a rough looking boy of about 
seventeen. A thick leather jacket hung 
from his shoulders as he lumbered 
through the street with a group of boys 
surrounding him. They were all as ugly 
as he was, but in different ways. It was 
obvious they were your stereotypical 
delinquent boy gang. A few of them even 
had a Band-Aid on their cheeks. 
 
"Say Knife! Tell us about the look 
the old woman got on her face when you 
pulled it out!" said a skinny looking 
punk with a shock of red hair that rose 
into the sky. 
 
"Sure thing, she looked like dis!" 
chortled the boy as he did a rather poor 
imitation of the woman's look. It was 
obvious to everyone but him that they 
were laughing at him, and not his joke. 
 
"Wha'd ya get?" asked the scrawny 
boy. 
 
"A few thousand yen, and some 
worthless jewelry," replied the boy with 
a disinterested shrug. He tossed the 
necklace over his shoulder carelessly, 
not noticing the hand reach down from 
above to catch it. 
 
"I don't think robbing old ladies is 
funny at all," said Spiderman as he hung 
just behind them. He was upside down and 
his eyes were level with the lead punks 
gaze. 
 
The group turned around and stared 
at him for a moment. 
 
"In fact, I think you should 
probably apologize to her. It wasn't a 
very nice thing to do at all." 
 
"What the hell is that?" said the 
skinny looking punk fearfully. The other 
three generic punks pulled out various 
weapons and circled around the hanging 
boy warily. 
 
"You know, I really don't feel like 
this right now. How about you give all 
that stuff back to me now instead of me 
taking it from you? I could just bring 
it back to them, and we'll forget all 
about this!" His voice was hopeful, but 
it was obvious that he seriously doubted 
that the boys would do it. 
 
"Uh. Okay," said the lead boy as he 
stared at the rather intimidating figure 
hanging in front of him. He pulled a wad 
of cash, and a few trinkets from his 
pocket and stuck them into the confused 
Spiderman's palm. 
 
"What? Boss?" said the skinny punk 
in shock. The others looked surprised as 
well. 
 
"Oh. Thanks," said the black clad 
figure as he climbed up his wire and 
swung away. 
 
"What were you thinking?" cried the 
skinny punk in shock. 
 
"I read too much manga ta tangle wit 
a guy like dat!" replied the older boy 
angrily. "Youse guys is stupid! Don't ya 
know a superhero when ya see one?" 
 
The others looked at each other and 
shrugged. 
 
"Sure was a nice guy. Even let us 
give it back without no trouble," agreed 
one of the dumber looking punks. 
 
"Yeah. I thought so too," agreed the 
leader with a small shrug. "Come on. I 
know a place dat'll sell us some beers." 
 
The group cheerfully wandered off to 
terrorize the streets of another area. 
 
++++++++++++++++++ 
 
The old man was lying on the ground, 
clutching at his chest. The woman was 
kneeling over him with her hands on his 
chest and stared at Spiderman as he 
looked at them dumbly. 
 
"Git! Git away from my husband! I 
won't let you take him away from me!" 
 
"Huh? What the heck are you talking 
about? I got your stuff back from those 
punks for ya." He shoved the money and 
jewelry into her chest and peered down 
at the old man. "Is he all right?" 
 
The old woman looked down with him 
and screeched. "Ah! Honey! Are you all 
right?" 
 
The man simply stared at Spiderman 
with his eyes wide. He was clutching at 
his chest and gasping for breath. 
 
"Do something!" cried the old woman. 
 
"What? Do I look like a doctor to 
you?" he said as he turned his head 
towards her. "Sorry about that old guy." 
 
"Don't scare me like that!" cried 
the old man as he finally got his breath 
back. "I ain't as young as I used to be! 
I coulda died!" 
 
"Right. Look, I'll just be going 
now. You just be more careful next 
time." He turned away. 
 
"Me be careful? You almost gave me a 
heart attack! Jumping out at strangers 
in an outfit like that! What's wrong 
with ya boy!" 
 
Carrot was growing severely annoyed 
by this mess. He'd had about all he 
could take for one night, and he was 
getting tired. He should have been home 
hours ago. "Whatever." He replied with a 
small wave as he jumped ten feet into 
the air as if it was normal and sent out 
a line to swing away. 
 
+++++++++++++++++ 
 
A half-our later, he was swinging 
towards home yet again. The novelty of 
swinging around was wearing off, and he 
was doing it mostly because it was 
faster than walking. The sooner he made 
it home, the less likely he was going to 
run into more trouble. 
 
His eyes went wide as a familiar 
tingling sensation started on his chest. 
It was growing more and more intense at 
a rather alarming rate. He gasped and 
released the wire he was swinging on, 
performing a tight flip in mid air as he 
did so. He spun around and landed on the 
roof of a car that was parked beside one 
of the apartments. 
 
Of course, this left a rather nasty 
dent in the metal, and cracked the 
windshield. It also hurt quite a bit. 
 
"YEOUCH!" 
 
"Every time I see you, I'm more 
impressed," said Kei as she walked 
calmly down the middle of the empty 
street and smirked at him. She arched 
her eyebrow as he stood upright shakily 
from his landing. "Nice outfit." 
 
"Yeah, thanks," he muttered 
painfully as he popped his back and 
jumped down from his landing spot. 
 
The girl pulled out her knife and 
smiled at him. "Shall we start?" 
 
"Can't we skip this for once?" he 
muttered irritably. 
 
"Sorry, this knife is cursed, it 
must taste your blood to be appeased," 
she replied coldly. 
 
"Literally, or figuratively?" he 
asked her. 
 
"Wouldn't you like to know? Then 
again, there isn't much about me I 
wouldn't tell you if you asked the right 
way." She arched her back, winked, and 
blew him a kiss at the same time. 
 
"Yeah. I'd noticed that," he 
responded sourly as he sighed. 
 
"Come on lover boy, I wanna see if 
you learned anything," she said as she 
stepped into a combat stance. 
 
"Well, I learned that that knife of 
yours is really sharp," he replied 
calmly as he crouched low and waited. 
 
"Not so quick on the attack this 
time?" she asked coolly. 
 
"I'm not dumb enough to make the 
same mistake twice," he replied as he 
slowly backed away. 
 
"Always thinking of escaping? You're 
starting to make me think you don't like 
me hon." 
 
"I'm starting to think you're too 
stupid to realize that I don't," he 
replied. 
 
Kei attacked, she jumped forward and 
Carrot felt a tingling point on his 
chest. He shifted to avoid the stab that 
she lashed out with as she landed. His 
reflexes weren't enough to stop her next 
attack though. Rather than land, she 
pushed herself into a handstand with the 
momentum and pushed off the ground. 
 
Carrot let out a muffled curse as 
her thighs wrapped around his head and 
he fell back onto the pavement with her 
sitting on his face. She smirked as she 
clenched the muscles in her legs just 
tight enough to hold him there. 
 
"Well, I could get to like this," 
she said playfully as she looked over 
her shoulder at the top of his head. She 
blinked and felt an unusual sensation. 
"Ooh..." she said as her eyes drooped 
slightly. A half-second later she jumped 
straight up and screamed in pain. Her 
hands went down to her crotch and she 
cursed loudly as she glared at the boy 
as he slowly stood up and shook his 
head. His mask was now up over his nose 
and he was wiping his mouth off with his 
arm. 
 
"Cleaner than I'd thought," he 
muttered just loud enough so that she 
could hear him. 
 
Kei narrowed her eyes at him and 
pulled her hand away from her crotch. 
Her fingers were covered in blood and 
she growled angrily. "Bastard." 
 
"I'll bet you forgot that I knew you 
keep knives in there," he responded with 
a small chuckle. 
 
"I'm impressed you managed to reach 
them," she replied coolly. 
 
"Ready to call it quits?" he asked 
calmly. "You should do something about 
that cut, there's a lot of dangerous 
veins down there. You could bleed to 
death if you're not careful." 
 
Kei frowned at him and looked down 
at her leg. There was a steady stream of 
blood that now reached her ankle. She 
considered attacking again and stumbled, 
it hurt to walk. "I'll get you for 
this." 
 
"I know. I stopped caring about that 
a while ago. Get lost before you pass 
out," he said calmly as he backed away 
from her and into the shadows of a 
nearby alley. 
 
"Jerk," grumbled Kei as she 
staggered into the darkness as well. The 
wound was going to be a bitch to patch 
up. Almost casually she reached under 
her uniform and pulled out a small 
bloody throwing knife. She tossed it 
aside in disgust and slumped down 
against the wall while searching through 
her robes for one of the bandages she 
kept on her body to stop the bleeding. 
She was already feeling light headed as 
it was. 
 
With a small frown, she took out a sai 
and put the rolled up bandage on the end 
of the handle. She closed her eyes as 
she inserted it and pressed it up 
against the wound inside her. It wasn't 
very large or all that deep. Sitting as 
she was now while stopping the blood 
flow for a half-hour or so would 
probably be enough really. She closed 
her eyes and rolled her head back to 
look up at the stars from between the 
two buildings. She laughed humorlessly 
and sighed, she wasn't going anywhere 
for a while. 
 
++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Carrot landed on the roof of his 
home and almost kissed the gravel. He'd 
never been so happy to see the place 
before. Well, there were the other times 
he'd almost gotten himself killed by one 
person or another. Tonight was a little 
different though. He'd made it home 
without a single wound. Gia wouldn't be 
able to spend the rest of the evening 
tormenting him with her hellish creams 
and ointments! He ripped the mask off 
his head and laughed out loud. 
 
Then he realized that he didn't have 
a change of clothes on him. 
 
"D'ou!" 
 
++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Carrot frowned through his mask as 
he hung outside his window and glared at 
Mei Lin. The girl was changing her 
clothes and was quite naked. 
 
"Stupid girl! Now I've got to hang 
out here till you're done!" he growled 
as he climbed up the line to wait just 
out of sight. 
 
It was right about this time that he 
realized what he had just been watching. 
He blinked and smacked his forehead. 
"What the hell am I thinking?" He 
lowered himself down again and continued 
to watch her change. He was a healthy 
fourteen-year-old boy after all. 
 
Mei Lin clipped on her bra and 
pulled her panties up as she shifted 
around through the closet for a moment, 
looking at what she wanted to wear. 
 
"Well, I guess I could wear this..." 
she muttered as she looked at a pair of 
jeans and a button up shirt. She frowned 
and peered at it for a moment. "Hmmm. I 
suppose it could work...they're a little 
loose though..." 
 
She tossed the pants aside and 
looked at a very short pair of shorts 
that she'd pulled off of a small pile on 
the tiny clothes dresser that sat on her 
side. Her clothes were folded neatly on 
one side, while Carrot's were tossed 
into his half rather messily. Most of 
what was on the floor should have been 
on a hanger anyway. She narrowed her 
eyes at this and sighed. She'd just have 
to clean it up later. 
 
After several moments of debate, she 
decided that it was too cold to wear 
something like that. She had to show him 
something though, it was frustrating the 
way he seemed to ignore her. 
 
Carrot, who, ironically enough, had 
seen everything, was hanging outside the 
window still. He was clinging to the 
small wire that connected him to the 
roof with both hands, and his arms were 
starting to get tired. "Stupid woman! 
Hurry it up will ya?" he growled 
quietly. 
 
Mei Lin's face brightened up as she 
happened upon a pair of black spandex 
pants. She pulled them on and smiled at 
the result. She was about to put on the 
shirt when she stopped and blinked 
again. "Wait a minute...this isn't going 
to work." She pulled on the edge of her 
plain white bra. It was kind of bulky 
and wasn't very sexy really. She sighed 
and took it off before opening the small 
dresser inside the closet that held the 
remainder of her clothes. 
 
She began to shift around through 
the clothes and grew more and more 
thoughtful. 
 
Outside, Carrot's arms finally gave 
out, and he landed face first on the 
pavement. Luckily, it was only about a 
five-foot drop. It still hurt though. 
"Damn," he grumbled painfully. "Stupid 
chick." 
 
Mei Lin cried out in triumph as she 
pulled out a lacy looking black bra and 
held it out in front of her. "It's 
perfect!" 
 
Carrot had no idea why chicks had to 
take so long to get dressed just to sit 
around the house. It irked him as he 
rolled onto his back and stared at the 
stars. He finally stood up and glanced 
around. His apartment was on the back 
end of the building, so the only thing 
he could see was the empty building 
behind him. It was some sort of small 
office building, and no one was there at 
this time of night. He kicked off the 
ground and stood up glancing around. 
 
Mei Lin was finished dressing now 
and was standing in front of the mirror 
smiling at herself like an idiot. She 
clapped her hands and looked far to 
pleased with herself for his liking. He 
wasn't sure what the hell was going 
through her mind at the moment. That was 
probably a good thing, because it most 
likely would have scared the hell out of 
him anyway. He stepped back and let her 
settle down a little before he tapped on 
the window. 
 
It took about three times before the 
girl seemed to figure out where the 
sound was coming from. He sighed and 
looked up at her as she opened the 
window to look at him. 
 
"Hey," he said calmly. 
 
Mei Lin stared at him and blinked. 
 
"What?" he snapped at her as she 
cocked her head. 
 
"EEEEEEKKK! An evil spirit of 
darkness!" 
 
Carrot was thrown off his feet as 
she shoved her hand forward in a 
contorted gesture. She said something in 
Chinese and he felt like an invisible 
wall of air slammed into his chest. 
Fortunately, it was only strong enough 
to knock him off his feet and surprise 
him. 
 
"What the hell is wrong with you?" 
he snapped angrily as he sat up. 
 
"Oh no! My powers are still not 
strong enough!" she muttered as she 
stared at her hand in horror. 
 
Carrot blinked and realized that he 
still had his mask on. "Oops." He pulled 
it off and stood up. "Stop that you 
crazy chick!" 
 
The girl blinked at him and stared 
him down. She leaned forward and 
narrowed her eyes at him. "Just how long 
have you been out here?" 
 
"Huh? I just got back," he lied. 
 
"Oh," said the girl as she stood 
upright and sighed. "Damn, wish he'd 
been here a minute ago..." she thought 
to herself irritably. "Anyway, come in. 
Why the hell are you wearing that 
thing?" 
 
"Hey! You're the one who's all gung- 
ho about fighting evil and all that 
crap!" he muttered angrily as he climbed 
into the window. "I forgot to bring a 
change of clothes back with me." 
 
"Oh. You've been fighting evil?" she 
said as she kneeled down on the ground 
and stared at him for a moment. 
 
"Yeah, what of it?" he snorted 
irritably. 
 
"You didn't bring me?!" she snapped 
as she suddenly grew angry with him. 
 
"Of course not! What good would you 
do me?" he responded as if she'd just 
asked him if she'd grown a tail or not. 
 
The girl frowned at him and her 
cheeks flushed with anger. 
"You...you...Fine! See if I care!" she 
turned her head away and crossed her 
arms over her chest. 
 
"Whatever. I've been taking care of 
some personal business today. Leave me 
the hell alone, I'm tired." 
 
"Why are you wearing that?" she said 
as her interest overrode her anger. 
 
"It's a secret identity. I wouldn't 
have told you about it if I hadn't 
forgotten my clothes. Don't go telling 
Gia about this! This is between you and 
me, got it?" 
 
The girl nodded. 
 
Carrot shuddered, if Gia found out 
he was running around in black 
tights...he'd never live it down! "What 
the hell was I thinking?" he muttered to 
himself. 
 
Mei Lin turned away from him and 
pulled her hair up into a loose bun on 
top of her head. She thought she looked 
pretty sexy that way. She smiled at him 
and spread her arms. "What do you 
think?" She had the button up shirt tied 
into a knot in front of her belly, 
exposing her bra and cleavage in plain 
sight. 
 
"Huh? About what?" he muttered 
dumbly as he looked at her. 
 
She put on her glasses and frowned 
at him. "What? Are you blind?" she 
snapped. 
 
"Hey, I'm not the one wearing 
glasses," he responded as he tried to 
figure out what the hell she was on 
about. "Aren't you cold in that shirt?" 
 
Mei Lin sighed and hung her head. "I 
give up. I'm going to sleep." 
 
"Whatever, I've got to change," he 
said as he frowned at her. 
 
"So go change," she muttered as she 
pulled out her futon. 
 
"I can't change in the bathroom if 
I'm keeping this a secret," he replied 
calmly. 
 
She looked up at him and sighed. "So 
sleep in it. I'm too tired to wait on 
you." 
 
Carrot blinked and shrugged his 
shoulders. "Whatever. Stay there then." 
He started to strip right in front of 
her and changed his clothes. 
 
Mei Lin simply stared, for a moment 
she thought she felt a tickle of blood 
on her upper lip. When she tried to 
touch it, the spot was dry though. After 
he'd gotten dressed she continued to 
stare at the wall. 
 
"I thought you were tired?" he 
grumbled as he set up his futon on the 
other side of the room. 
 
She blushed and squeaked as she lay 
herself down on her futon. She purposely 
turned away from him and blushed as she 
simply continued to stare at the wall. 
 
Carrot snorted as he glanced at her 
for a moment and shook his head. "I'll 
never understand girls at all." He 
closed his eyes and went to sleep. 
 
+++++++++++++++++++ 
 
TBC... 
 
Next Time: The Senshi's new friend!